The Spark in Him
by plushieeee
Summary: Jaune finds out that his family is dead. It triggers his semblance. Sorry, I'm bad at summaries.
1. Chapter 1: Earlier Than Expected

**This story will focus on Jaune slowly getting stronger. This is my first Fanfic, forgive me for my bad grammar.**

* * *

 **The Spark in Him Chapter 1**

As I stand at the remains of my families' home, my home, all I remember was a warm hearth, the loving smile of my parents, the teasing and the overprotectiveness of my sisters. I don't blame them for leaving me earlier than I expected, it wasn't their fault after all. I suppose that I'm getting ahead of myself, maybe I should start from the very beginning.

"MEGAN!" A high pitched yell could be heard throughout the Arc's family villa. Aureus Castellum, a 4 story mansion owned by the Arc clan. This massive house is home to Michael Arc, the patriarch of the Arc family, Emma Arc, wife to Michael Arc, and their 7 daughters and only son. **Charlotte Arc** , the oldest of the 7 daughters, she is very strict and will soon take control of the Arc's family business, **Aubrey Arc** , the third oldest and the tamest of the sisters, **Misty Arc** , the fourth oldest, **Chloe Arc** , the middle child, **Vivy and Vivian Arc** , the twins and also the most reserved of the arc siblings, **Jaune Arc** , the only son and also the heir of the Arc Clan, and finally **Megan Arc** , the second oldest of the arc siblings but also the most immature of the group.

"MEGAN! PLEASE! DON'T!" a 7-year-old boy with bright blue eyes and golden shaggy hair can only yell out as he chases his sister across the massive living room of the Arc's villa in high heels.

"Catch me if you can slowpoke!" Megan yells to her little brother while holding a picture of Jaune in his birthday suit, the "suit" as Megan says was more like a flowered dress with matching high heels.

"C'mon Megan I can't run in these heels." Jaune mumbles out, tired from trying to run in high heels. Emphasis on 'run', it was more like power crawling with Jaune's face hitting the floor every 3 steps of the way.

"Happy Birthday, little bro." Megan calls out to Jaune sweetly, too sweetly, after reaching her destination, the Arc sisters bedroom.

"I'm doomed." Jaune can only whimper as he can hear the various demonic voices coming from the cursed bedroom.

* * *

Now 10 years of age, Jaune had grown quite a bit. He had grown 6 inches, he now stands at 4'10 and almost the same height as the twins Vivy and Vivian. However, the growth in stature hasn't helped the young man with his confidence one bit, seeing that he's still a victim of his sisters teasing.

"Megan give Jaune his space, he is going through puberty now, of course he will be more interested in girls. What is her name again Jaune?" Charlotte asks Jaune with a serious expression. Inside she is barely keeping it together, who says she didn't like teasing her siblings? She is the oldest after all.

"M-Mar-Margaret." Jaune can only stutter in the presence of his oldest sister, Charlotte, his siblings told him that when her oldest sister dons her "business expression" it means that there is something really, really wrong.

"Ah, is that the girl that skips her class and doesn't hand in her homework on time?" Aubrey says, while giving Jaune a smug look.

"She is a bad influence Jaune, stay away from her." Charlotte states firmly with her stern expression.

"WHAT?! NO! NO! She is very nice to me, she hands in her homework and she attends class on time! I REALLY REALLY LIKE HER! AND-AND-AND..." Jaune all but yells to his sister, red faced and sweating.

Only then did Jaune realize that he was set up. He looked around the Arc sisters room to find that his siblings were all taking pictures of him and laughing, even his oldest sister, Margaret, oh Oum why did he deserve such a faith, did he kick a puppy in his old life? No, he would never do that.

Once again, Jaunes face was reunited with his old companion, the floor, as he slams his face towards his belovedfriend to hide from the shame and embarrassment.

* * *

"Dad can you train me to become a huntsman?" Jaune asks his father giving him a puppy look, though the effect was lessened, having grown to 5'5 at 14 years old will do that.  
"Son…" Michael can only think of reasons why his son would pick the worst career on Remnant with a 97% chance of death.

"Emmy, help me out here." Michael sends out a pleading look to her wife Emma Arc hoping that she would know the answer to let their only son know that his future career was bad for him. Gently of course, he doesn't want to hurt his son's feelings.

"No, Michael 'Nicholas' Arc you can tell him that yourself! I will not be responsible for hurting our son!" Emma yells at Michael with the ferociousness of a Beringel and a snarl of a Beowulf. The 6'6 300-pound man can only shiver in the look that he was given and can't help but fear for his life.

"Son, If I let you court Margaret early will you quit your dream of being a hunter?" Michael asks his only heir, placing a hand on his shoulder and an ear-splitting grin on his face while giving Jaune a thumbs up. Until his enormous grin was shattered when he suddenly teleported from Jaunes side to the Arc's outside garden through a window in the 4th storey by a powerful kick.

"Sorry about your dad, I really don't know what I saw in him. Look, Jaune, you're our only son and heir, we can't risk you being a hunter because you're very special to us, to me and your doofus father. Please don't ask about this anymore, okay sweetie? Or mom will get angry." Jaune frantically nodded his head, he didn't want to die so soon like his father, he still had a dream to fulfill.

"Honey can you please fix our window?" Jaunes mother called out to his father in a sickly sweet voice, like candy apple dipped in sugar and honey.

"Y-yes honey, just let me recover from the shock of being kicked out a 4th storey window..." Michael whimpers out an answer to Emma in fear of what she would do to him later.

* * *

"I don't know why my dad keeps refusing to train me!" Jaune whines in frustration to his girlfriend, Margaret. They were walking at the only park in Viribus, the young Arc's village.

Margaret can only sigh at Jaune's antics, while struggling to wrap a comforting arm around her boyfriend's neck. Jaune had really hit his growth spurt, he stood at a monstrous height of 6'1 though he's still as scrawny as ever. "Jaune, you know that your family is really overprotective of you. Hell, they even did a background search of me before letting me date you."

"I know Maggie- I know, its just that its frustrating. Can't they see that I don't want to manage a business all my life? I want to get out there and fight! I want to protect people from the Grimm, protect you guys, my precious family." The blonde haired heir proudly says with fire and determination in his eyes.

"Why not just make that path yourself? I mean, you're too late to go to a combat school now, why not fake your transcripts and sneak into beacon?" Margaret says facetiously.

"Say that again Maggie?" The young arc questions his girlfriend with a new fire in his eyes and a mischievous smile plastered to his face.

"Jaune, you can not seriously be thinking of-..." Maggie started, eyes as wide as dinner plates, but was promptly cut off by Jaune kissing her lovingly in the lips.

"Thanks Maggie, you're the best." Jaune started to run off to his families' villa after flashing Margaret with a boyish grin. Margaret can only sputter and blush from a sudden intimate contact from her boyfriend.  
"I know I am, you got lucky Jaune 'Miles' Arc." Margaret mumbled as red as a tomato, almost stumbling from a protruding tree root on the way to her house. Oh she knows that she's going to get him back for this once they were married.

* * *

Once he got home Jaune had told his sisters his plan and begged for them to help him. He was surprised that they were supportive of his plan, he seriously thought that they would tie him down and rat him out to their parents.

"I know a guy; he can get you the transcripts you need for Beacon." Charlotte stated while making some calls.

"You need a weapon right? I can get Dad's old weapon for you, I doubt that he's still using it." Megan said, while running off with a devious smile. The rest of his sisters were bombarding him with questions, asking him what else he needs for Beacon and what else they can do for him.

Jaune found himself tearing up, he never expected this much faith and support in him from his sisters. "Y-you guys are the b-best." Jaune manages to get out, on the verge of crying. He honestly could never ask for better sisters. He loved them all with his heart and soul.

It was at his 17th birthday that Jaune decided that he will sneak out of his village and leave for Vale. It was sad knowing that he will leave his family, and girlfriend behind, but they knew why he was doing this for, he knows why he's doing this for. It was for them, for his loving family. He said goodbye to each one of them, even Margaret.

"I'll miss you big boy." Megan winked at him, sadly her silly expression didn't hide the tears and sadness from her eyes. He hated seeing that.

"I will miss you little brother, always know that you will always have a place here with us." Charlotte hugged him, hard.

"Jaune you better kick some Grimm butts for us!" Vivy and Vivian energetically spoke at the same time. It puzzled the young Arc how they actually do that.

"Bring me back some cake, bro." Aubrey said to him, giving him a thumbs up. Jaune chuckled at this, of all the bunch Aubrey really was the only normal one.

"I wish you luck on your future endeavours." Misty flatly stated, while stealthily sneaking a rosary in Jaunes hand. He still has the rosary to this day.

"You better remember to call or your dead dude!" Misty lightheartedly threatened Jaune, jabbing him in the shoulder. Jaune said goodbye to all of them on more time and pulled them into a tight hug. He snuck into his parent's room and left a note saying how he was sorry that he had to leave, that it was important, that he loved them all, and that they were all important to him. Then he left his families' villa and headed for Margaret's house.

"You better come back or I swear I'm gonna hunt you down, kill you, then bring you back to life again just so I could kill you and revive you again. Then I'll kiss you." Margaret made his boyfriend swear an oath before kissing him.

"I'll call you everyday, Arc's promise. And when I conquer Beacon with my charms I'll come back here and marry you." Jaune barely manages to choke the words out of his throat. He loved her so much, still it was understandable that this needs to happen. It was to protect them after all.

"You better not cheat on me mister. I love you."

"I love you too, Maggie."

* * *

Jaune cannot believe it, his plans had finally taken fruition. He had an amazing partner who had unlocked his aura and an amazing team to lead no less! Maybe lady luck had miraculously taken a liking to him, though with his luck probably not. His team had been supportive of his leadership so far, but even if he did lead a team effectively, he still sucked at fighting. It had only been two months since initiation and two months of him getting his ass handed to him on a silver platter by the Winchester kid. Thankfully, Pyrrha had offered to train Jaune, and Jaune had gratefully accepted the much needed training. All in all, Jaune thinks that his new life at Beacon had started to finally fall into place.

"So, there we were, in the middle of the night…" Jaune sighs at Nora's bombastic personality, he wonders how a girl can have so much explosive energy in a Monday morning. Jaune tunes her out and glances across the cafeteria, he spots the dreaded Winchester boy tugging at a poor faunus girl's bunny ears.

"What a degenerate." Weiss bluntly stated, not caring at all if other students around their table had heard of her demeaning comment towards the brute teen.

"Seriously, is tugging at faunus ears his fetish?" Yang but all agreed, but in a less serious manner. Sitting beside her is Blake Belladona, her partner, who visibly tensed at the sight of the shameful act. She looked like she wanted to viciously tear the poor Winchester's throat out.

"YAANNNGGGGG, Don't be gross! C'mon guys, lets go over there and do something about it!" Ruby yells in agreement with her own team. Team RWBY promptly sent the savage boy with nasty and menacing glares, which thankfully the boy was oblivious to, if looks could kill that Winchester boy would've seriously died 100 times over, with 100 different deaths.

"THEN WE WERE SELLING THE URSA RUGS FOR M-…" Nora was interrupted with her story when she realizes that no one was listening to her, she then turned her head to where her friends were looking and saw a teen tugging at a poor girl's ears. "RENNY, THEY'RE DOING THE SAME THING THAT WE DO IN SECRET…ONLY HARDER! TELL ME WHY THEY'RE DOING OUR THING?!" Nora all but yelled around the table questioning her raven haired partner, this garnered attention from Jaune, Pyrrha, and their sister team, RWBY, giving the two 'partners' odd looks, especially when they all remembered Nora's introduction to Ren earlier in the school year when she said they aren't "together-together".

"No-Nora we don't talk about that with our friends, okay?" The green clad teen could only mumble out a response to Nora's shocking revelation, if his complexion didn't match his magenta eyes before, they surely did now.

"Enough! PYRRHA, LETS GO OVER THERE AND BREAK HIS LEGS!" Pyrrha only gave her energetic teammate a bright smile and a nod, signaling that she was in agreement with Nora's demands to cripple the boy.

"You guys are being overly dramatic, Cardin's just pranking. You know, me and him are best buds! We hang out a lot and even then he still jokes around with me." Jaune stated, convincing himself more so than his friends. Yang clicked her tongue.

"Tsk-tsk-tsk, is that what he told you vomit boy? He sent you flying into the emerald forest in a locker, he trips you during chemistry, and always picks on you to beat your ass in combat class." Yang said, checking off a list in her fingers while idly glancing at the blonde haired boy's reaction.

With the attention of their entire table on him now, Jaune found the words stuck in his throat. He glanced at Pyrrha's direction for help, but only found a pitied look sent to him by the red haired Spartan. Jaune couldn't take it, he grabbed his food tray and walked out of the mess hall. Cardin saw this and gave an unnerving smirk.

* * *

"Jaune Arc and Cardin Winchester, please come up the arena!" Despair, that's what Jaune felt as he walked up the steps into the amphitheaters' arena. What was he thinking? He couldn't defeat Cardin, hell, his partner had to save him from a Beowulf after she had unlocked his aura.

"Ready to eat dirt Jauney-boy?" Cardin spoke, while menacingly playing with the 5-foot-tall mace on his shoulder. Cardin cut a very intimidating figure even without Aura, he was 6'5, towering over Jaune by 4 inches and a lot more muscular than him.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Jaune muttered out a reply, readying his ancestral weapon, Crocea Mors. His legs felt like lead, his heart was beating 5 times faster than normal, and his pupils were dilating. Its safe to say that Jaune was a little intimidated by Cardin.

"Begin." Cardin immediately lunged towards Jaune with the speed and ferocity of a cheetah. Aura can do wonders for the body, not only does it protect from physical harm but it also improves the natural limits of a human's physical capabilities. Jaune found himself staring at Cardin's mace, the jewel encrusted into the head of it ominously glowing, Jaune knew what would happen next and can only do one thing to prevent him from being knocked out of the arena. He raised his shield. The impact of the mace and the added explosion hammered Jaune towards the back of the arena, the hit had taken 30% off his aura but it worked, he wasn't launched out. He could still win.

"Wow, I'm a little impressed you didn't get knocked out like the last 60 times we fought Jaune. I guess you're pretty good at doing what you do, taking a hit that is." Cardin sneered at him, sending an annoyed glare at his way. Cardin wanted to end the fight quickly to show how much stronger he was compared to the blonde haired teen.

"That's not the only thing I could do." Jaune hurled his shield at the brute boy, shocked at the new move that Jaune pulled out, Cardin only stared at the hurtling projectile until it hit him square in the face knocking his aura down to 97% stunning him for a bit.

"I hit him… I FINALLY HIT HI-!" Jaune's musing was interrupted by a large mace heading for his head which had promptly reunited him with his long lost friend, the concrete floor.

"The winner, Cardin Winchester!" Jaune only sighed at the outcome, of course it wasn't possible to beat him, 2 months of training couldn't do that. But he finally hit him, it was a small step towards a victory that he will inevitably earn in the future.

* * *

"Lets see how much of a man you really are." Cardin smirked, looking down at the prone form of Jaune. This day had really sucked for him. What was supposed to be an easy errand and an enjoyable field trip to the Forever Fall Forest had turned into a mess for Jaune really quickly, curse his bad luck. Cardin had "enlisted" his help earlier for his plan, he had a box of rapier wasps that he will release once the jars were thrown. Cardin wanted him to throw the red jars containing the sap towards his friends. Of course he didn't and he ended up throwing the jar at Cardin, staining the ginger boy's face and armor with crimson liquid. This act of heroism had earned him a beating from Cardin and his teammates, he didn't regret it though, he loved his friends.

"That's what you get you for being a brain dead hero." Cardin grinned deviously at Jaune, he placed a foot on Jaune's breastplate to keep him from getting up while his teammates pummel Jaune to the ground.

Suddenly, a loud inhuman roar erupted behind Cardin, the roar was so loud that it shook the ground in the forest. A black beast emerged from the red themed forest, it was the size of a 2 storey house with bone plates and spikes covering most of the its back, the most haunting of all was its face, a bone mask covering the top part of its head with glowing red runic marks complimenting its menacing crimson eyes.

"THAT'S A MASSIVE URSA!" Someone yelled, Jaune couldn't tell who it was, his vision was spinning and all he could see was the black mass in front of him.

"Hey! Where the hell are you guys going?!" Cardin yelled to his teammates, they ran away as soon as they saw the frightening sight of the massive black bear. 'Cowards, some teammates they are. Its just a bear, why the hell are they so scared?' he thought. Cardin pulled out his massive mace and charged at the Ursa. Cardin used all his momentum from his charge and swung at the Ursa and activated his semblance for good measure. The Ursa just raised its massive paw and blocked the swing, its massive armored body immune to the effects of the explosion. Cardin was shocked, no one else, besides Jaune, had taken the full brunt of his attack. The Ursa simply knocked the mace away from Cardin's hand while he was still stunned and pounced on him, ready to savour its marinated prey.

"I could just leave him, I could just leave him, out of sight out of min-…AARRRGGHHH!" Jaune roared, charging to aid his bully. He got there in time, barely being able to block the swing of the Ursa with his shield from ending his classmate's life.

"Jaune, what the hell are you-…" Cardin spoke but was curtly interrupted by Jaune.

"You may be an asshole, but…well…you are still an asshole but I won't let anyone die on my watch, if I did I wouldn't be able to call myself a huntsman." Jaune explained, bashing the Ursa's paw away. Jaune briefly wondered why there was some sort of black energy empowering his weapons and strengthening his blows, he shoved it at the back of his mind however, he had a bear to kill.

Jaune swung his ancestral blade at the ancient Ursa, the power of his blows pushing the Ursa back and away from Cardin. The Ursa was easier to fight than Cardin, it was slow, but it was tough, his swings barely being able to pierce its hard skin. Jaune knew that he needed a deathblow, he couldn't just prick the Ursa over and over again and hope that it just keels over and dies from a heat stroke or something. He needed an opening, he saw his chance when the Ursa leapt at him with all the grace of a sack of potatoes. His shield briefly glowed black meeting the giant paw of the Ursa, the impact of the force sent his right foot towards the grounds which gave him enough momentum to swing hard enough towards the Ursa's neck, decapitating it. He looked at his first kill, an Ursa Major! Jaune couldn't believe it, but before he celebrates he needed to do something first.

Jaune looked towards Cardin's prone position, he offered a hand to him and pulled him up. "Don't ever mess with my friends, ever. Got it?" Jaune gave Cardin a hard stare, then walked away. Who knows, maybe this whole experience can change Cardin and maybe this can be the start of a new friendship. Unbeknownst to Jaune, 3 figures were watching the fight, ready to jump in at a moment's notice, they walked away seemingly satisfied in how Jaune dealt with the situation.

* * *

"C'mon Jaune its just a dare." Cardin laughed, while wrapping an arm around Jaune.

"Hell no, I'm not doing it." 1 month after the Forever Fall Incident, Cardin had really changed. He quit bullying and making racist remarks against the faunus. Team JNPR and RWBY cannot believe it, even Cardin's own team, CRDL, couldn't believe it. Cardin had really start taking things seriously, even doing his own homework! Him and Jaune had quickly become good friends over the course of 4 weeks. They had both shared a near death experience in the form of a giant Ursa after all.

"Team JNPR please come to the headmaster's office." The intercom spoke, interrupting Jaune and Cardin's shenanigans.

"Well gotta fly Cardin." Jaune waved goodbye at his new friend.

"See ya, dude." Cardin replied with a 2 finger salute.

It took Jaune and his team 30 minutes to arrive at the headmaster's office. They had to look presentable first before speaking to Ozpin, it was an unspoken etiquette between Beacon's teams.

"Do you know why I called you in here?" Ozpin began, his caramel brown eyes locking with theirs in a serious manner.

"N-no, Mr. Ozpin sir, did we do something that upset you sir, did I do something to upset you sir? Is this about my transc-…" Jaune barely manages to put a hand over his mouth to stop him from spilling the beans about his faked transcripts.

Ozpin smirks at Jaune's reaction, his face set on an impassive but knowing mold. Jaune's uneasiness welled up, he couldn't help but feel that Ozpin KNOWS everything about him just by looking at his eyes. He briefly wonders if the headmaster's semblance was mind reading, that's impossible though…right?

"No, Mr. Arc. I didn't call your team here to discuss your…entry to Beacon." Ozpin gives him a knowing smile. "I came here to discuss the status of your village, Viribus." His smile now gone to show a very miniscule frown.

"Hmm, my family wrote to me a week ago. They said that they were fine and that I shouldn't worry about them…" Jaune began, but was interrupted by Ozpin.

"Do tell me the contents of this message, Mr. Arc." Ozpin's face was cast on a steely expression.

"Well they told me that I shouldn't worry about them, that they really, really love me. They're sorry that we haven't really interacted as much when I came to Beacon, and that I'll always be in their hearts. They said that I should be strong for my new family, I was a bit confused by this and I asked them what this was about. I haven't gotten a reply since, I just thought that maybe they were too busy or something. Why is something wrong headmaster?" Jaune questioned, a bit puzzled by the headmaster's odd behaviour.

"We have identified an anomaly in your hometown, Mr. Arc. A massive spike of negative emotions from Viribus, I want you and your team to go to your village and tell me what this anomaly was, is that clear?" Ozpin ordered, he gazed at the expression of the young Arc, a mix of anger, confusion, and worry in his face.

"This mission will be kept confidential from the whole school. You will all leave at 6 A.M. tomorrow in the provided Bullhead, you are all dismissed for the rest of the day." Ozpin added.

"Jaune what was that? What happened to your village?" Pyrrha worriedly questions Jaune.

"I-I-I don't know, my family texted me a week ago telling me that they're fine. Now, Ozpin is telling me that there was an anomaly there?!" Jaune couldn't help but bite his nails in worry of his family and girlfriend. Suddenly, warmth was pressed against his back, in the form of his partner. He initially jumped from the forced contact but settled when he found it comforting and warm.

"Its alright Jaune, its probably just a glitch in the scanners, they're fine. You said your father was a strong huntsman right? If that was true, then they are safe." Pyrrha spoke comfortingly while hugging her partner. "Right, guys?" She looked back at Ren and Nora for help.

"Jaune, your father can probably break an anomaly's legs! RENNY, WHATS AN ANOMALY?!" Nora answers energetically, excited for the first mission team JNPR was tasked with.

"Indeed, Nora is correct. Your father is a veteran huntsman Jaune, you needn't worry." Ren spoke comfortingly, while patting Nora's head.

"See? What's the worst that could happen Jaune?" Pyrrha asks him, comfortingly wrapping her arms around his body.

"Right, what's the worst that could happen."

* * *

Tomorrow came early for Jaune, too early in fact. He didn't want to know what happened, if anything…his heart couldn't take it. He had tried texting and calling his family dozens of times yesterday, but all he got was that damned automated voice mail. 'The Arc's are not here right now; would you like to leave a message?'

The bullhead ride didn't take long, 2 hours at most. Jaune felt sick, but not because of the bullhead ride, he was sick because of guilt. If he didn't leave, he could've helped them, he could've kept them safe, they would still be-. No, it was not healthy to assume, Maybe Pyrrha was right about his village. His dad was a veteran huntsman right? He could take care of anything, guilt left him but it was replaced with an emptiness he could not describe. Then his gaze wandered down to his sword, the ancestral weapon of the Arcs, his father's weapon, a weapon that he stole. Guilt filled him as quickly as it had left, his dad didn't have a backup weapon, did he?

Then the bullhead lurched and landed, light filled his eyes as the bullhead's doors automatically opened and what filled his eyes still haunted him to this day. His village, Viribus, the very name meant strength, yet he could found none. His village wasn't just destroyed, no, it was leveled. Jaune studied the shocked looks of his team with a heavy expression. "Can you guys stay here? I think-… No, I want to this by myself."

"No, Jaune we're your friends and teammates, we can't let you face this alone." Pyrrha replied. She knew what kind of horrors her leader will find in his village and she didn't want to let him go through it alone. She looked towards her two friends for help, Nora and Ren only nodded solemnly in agreement with the red warrior, the former being uncharacteristically quiet. She wondered if something like this happened to them before.

"I can't say anything that will make you guys change your mind, huh?" Jaune asked his red haired partner with a sigh.

"No." Pyrrha stated firmly, as they walked closer to the wall of the village the Spartan heard a muffled 'thank you' from Jaune's direction.

He walked towards the ruins of the once proud wall that used to surround his village, it used to make him feel so safe, so warm, but now it only filled him with dread. Jaune forced himself to walk through the ruined town, he needed to know if they were still alive…or maybe what he really needed was closure, he didn't know. Walking through the now destroyed park, Jaune couldn't help but tear up when he remembered the promise he made to Margaret 3 month's ago. _'I'll come back here and marry you.'_ He felt utter shame and guilt. He felt broken. What did he do in his past life to deserve this? Did he kick a puppy? That, he didn't know.

Team JNPR only walked for 20 minutes, but the look on their leader's face made it seem like it took 20 years. After 20 minutes of walking they finally reached their destination, Jaune's home, his source of strength, his light. The Arc manor was utterly burnt to the ground, its luscious gardens were scorched and had small craters around it. Jaune rushed to his ancestral home with the speed and desperation of a madman. "Please…please…just…tell me…" Jaune spoke in between breaths from the futile but strenuous action. His fingers digging through the smoking wood. He clawed and dug through the ruins of the house, intent of finding something. He saw a glint and quickly fished it out from the ruins, it was a scroll, more specifically it was his sisters scroll. The scroll showed 42 missed calls and 50 messages, and it all came from him.

Pyrrha only watched in silence as her team leader fiddled with the scroll that he found from the burnt house. For the first time in forever the Mistralian champion was clueless, she didn't know what to do. Jaune was her partner and she didn't even have it in her to walk over there and comfort him, 'Some partner I am.' She thought. What can she even say? 'Everything will be okay Jaune?' or 'Don't worry we're here for you?' She didn't go through such a devastating tragedy before, heck, if this happened to her she would instantly sink into depression and was sure that no one could ever pull her out of it. She looked towards Ren and Nora and hoped that they knew the right words for their grief stricken leader.

Ren walked towards his leader Nora in tow and placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "Jaune, you're not alone. Nora and me are orphans, we went through the same thing that you did, we both understand how much it hurts to lose your guardians." Ren spoke comfortingly to his leader.

"Does it ever get any easier?" Jaune questioned his raven haired friend, eyes looking up and away from his sisters scroll.

Ren studied his leader's blue eyes. Gone was the bright spark that once enveloped the striking ocean blue eyes, what replaced it was cocktail of emotions, anger, coldness, grief, and last of all was emptiness. Ren could only guess how hard this whole tragedy had hit his team leader, he hoped that Nora, Pyrrha, team RWBY, and him can help him through with it.

"I'll be honest, it doesn't, but you get over it. You have us Jaune, your friends, you're not alone." Ren gently replied.

"I see." Jaune's eyes had regained some of its color, yet the harmful mixture of negative emotions was still present.

A loud roar from their right had interrupted the moment, a pack of Beowolves. PNR of team JNPR had instantly sprung into action, they charged towards the Beowulves, weapons ready to tear the pack to shreds.  
"WAIT!" A loud voice shook from behind them.

"I should do it, please, I need this. They might be the ones that…" Jaune voice shook, he didn't dare finish the thought.

"Jaune, are you sure you could handle them?" Pyrrha worriedly questions Jaune, she didn't want her future crush getting hurt after all.

"Yes." The blonde boy flatly stated, there was no emotion in his voice, no fear, nothing.

Before his teammates could respond Jaune charged at the pack, sword held high and ready. He viciously swung at the alpha's neck and instantly decapitated it. His swing overextended him though and the other 3 Beowolves jumped at the opening. Fangs and claws raked against him, his white aura flaring.

"JAUNE!" Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren yelled at their leader at the same time, they rushed towards him, intent on saving the blonde boy from the Beowolf pack.

Suddenly a white flash of aura erupted from Jaune's direction and sent the Beowolves spiraling away from him. Jaune glowed with power, his aura roared like fire, he then lunged to the three Beowolves still laying in the ground, leaving small cracks under him from the sheer power of his steps. He swung at the three Beowolves producing a sizable gust of wind which instantly cleaved the poor beasts in half.

PNR of team JNPR only stared at their leader, flabbergasted. Did Jaune's swings produce that much power before?

Jaune felt like he could shatter a small hill right now, he briefly wondered where all this power came from, could it be from his semblance? It doesn't matter now; he finally has a chance to avenge his family's death, and he would make those responsible pay.

* * *

 **His semblance wont be too OP because he just got it. He needs to master it first.**

 **Thanks for reading! Please leave a review to tell me how I did!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I DID IT, YES! I finally finished this chapter.**

* * *

 **The Spark in Him chapter 2**

Jaune looked around him and breathed out, his mouth exhaling steam instead of air in the middle of a very humid day. He raised both of his hands near his face and studied them, the blonde teen saw the roaring blaze of his aura gradually weaken and turn into mere wisps of flame as the effect of his semblance died down. He felt its addicting influence leave him, the confidence and the thunderous power it filled him was soon replaced with the sensation of fatigue and soreness all over his body. Suddenly, the young leader felt his feet leave the ground as he was tackled by an orange blur, he then immediately felt all the air leave his lungs when he was reunited again with his beloved Gaea when Nora slammed him onto the ground with all the force comparable to a body slam from an Ursa Major.

"Jaune, please don't ever do something that reckless again. Ren and I can't afford lose you too…" Nora begged, her light blue eyes puffy and on the brink of tears. Jaune stared deeply at her sapphire orbs, he was bothered by the fact that the usual energetic twinkle that plastered the bubbly ginger's eyes was replaced with a look that didn't suit it at all, a look of sadness and concern. The blonde knight didn't even need to see the rest of her expression to know how much his current predicament had hit so close to home for her.

"I'm sorry Nora, I will never do anything like that again. Arc's promise." Jaune groaned out, while trying his best to smile at the orange haired girl in his current condition. His lithe body was still sore from overtaxing his newly acquired semblance and add in the fact that he was currently trying to recover from an Ursa sized tackle.

Jaune looked up to the sky, his tired muscles relaxing from his comfortable position, though, it was only his body that relaxed. The familiar scent of grass and dirt made his brain remember all the times he spent here with his family and friends. He fondly remembered the times when he would chase his older sisters all the way to the opposite side of his village, all because of their teasing, he also remembered the times when his Mom and Dad would playfully banter with each other, and the times when Margaret, him, and his friends hanged out at their usual spot, just a couple of kids hanging out and having fun. He really longed for those carefree and innocent days to come back, he knew that he would trade everything that he had for it, his time at Beacon, his aura, and even his dream to become a huntsman.

Jaune realized how foolish his dream really was, coming to Beacon with no experience nor skill under his belt while others his age trained themselves to the bone. 'What was I even thinking?' The blonde knight asked himself, 'I couldn't even save them…' he somberly thought. His musings were interrupted when he heard a lengthy sigh that emanated from his right. The blonde teen turned his head and saw Ren with Pyrrha right behind him jogging over to them.

Ren placed his hands over Nora's shoulders and heaved, trying to remove Nora's iron grip around his blonde leader. "Nora, please get off him." Ren pleaded with the orange haired girl, "I promised I'll make you pancakes when we get back." The raven haired teen whispered to Nora, the sudden promise of fluffy little pieces of heaven immediately made the hammer wielding ginger let go.

Jaune found himself dragged up to his feet by his red haired partner, "Jaune…wha-what was that?" Pyrrha asked, the Spartan was still astonished from the amount of power that her leader showed. "Could it be your semblance?" She continued, as she stared at Jaune. Her dazzling emerald eyes were showing an odd look of pride, like a parent watching their precious children turn into fine adults.

"Fearless leader! That! Was! AWESOME!" Nora exclaimed, her serious and gloomy mood forgotten and replaced with the same old energetic attitude that was the norm for her.

"Indeed, Jaune, If I may ask, what was that?" Jaune turned to Nora's side and saw Ren's magenta eyes boring into his figure, seemingly trying to dissect the blonde teen with his mind.

Jaune closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, he could feel a headache already forming, 'this will take a lot of time to explain, I guess its better to start now.' He sighed wearily. He opened his eyes and was met with a certain red haired girl's face staring at him with a concerned expression. He felt a soft but calloused hand settle on his shoulder, he breathed deeply and smelled the waft coming from his partner's direction, it was the smell of fall. It reminded him of the times where he and his family would go out every year in the fall and they would try to hunt for the mythical maple syrup. He smiled deeply, even if they're gone now he still had the precious memories he spent with them locked in his heart, and nothing could take that away from him. As long as he has them in his heart they will forever be with him, always.

"Jaune, are you alright?"

"I will be."

* * *

"Be careful!" Jaune heard his partner's worried voice behind him as he dashed towards the pack of Beowolves. He knew what he was trying to do, he wanted petty vengeance against the Grimm. It didn't matter to him even if they were continents away from his village, he would kill them all. He couldn't describe the feeling that welled up inside his core, he knew that he should be fearing for his life right now as he sprinted towards the pack of Grimm, but this time it was different, very different. Different from the first time he faced a Beowolf, he felt fear and anxious back then, now, well, he felt nothing except for two very destructive emotional drives, just glancing at the Grimm was enough to spontaneously fill him with hate and anger.

Jaune reached the pack and swung his ancestral blade at the alpha's neck. His face was splashed with black blood as the silver blade sheared through the muscular neck which decapitated the Beowolf. He instantly closed his eyes in reflex and realized his mistake a little too late, the blonde teen knew that it was a fatal mistake and is going to cost him his life. He felt no regrets though, he knew that he died a warrior's death and will be reunited again with his precious family. 'Wait for me, I won't be long.' He smiled, his mind and body relaxed, signifying that he was ready to accept the impending doom.

"Is this the extent of your will? Now I'm having second thoughts when I called in that favour." The blonde teen heard a voice, he couldn't tell where it was coming from but it was oddly familiar. "I can't believe it. To think that this was the same guy that chased me all over the village just to delete a silly picture." The disembodied voice continued. The voice then changed its tone, "Do you think this was what I wanted to see? To think that your mother and I raised a coward." The disembodied voice tuned its pitch and tone every time it spoke, he started hearing a multitude of different voices speaking to him and they were all trying to coax him to resist and fight.

'It's too late, even if I did try and flail around I would still just be prolonging the inevitable.' Jaune "spoke" to the voices. He guessed that the voices were a sign from Monty himself, he felt a bit flattered, knowing that the celestial being still watched out for him. Suddenly, the voices merged and spoke in a gentle tone that sounded like sweet honey to his ears. It was the voice of someone that had always managed to cheer him up, it was the voice of someone that he wouldn't dare forget, it was the voice that belonged to somebody he promised his whole life for.

"Fight, for me." It only spoke three words but it was enough to fill him with overwhelming energy that threatened to burst out of him, it took him all his willpower to hold it back. He opened his eyes with renewed vigor and saw claw and fang flying towards his vital areas, they scratched and raked against his aura and that was when he finally let loose. The mysterious power flowed inside him unchecked like a raging river, the ground cracked around him from the sheer pressure of his aura as his body emitted a bright light that pushed back the Grimm away from him. Jaune felt every fiber of his being swell with an unknown strength, he lunged at the stunned Beowolves leaving cracks in the ground from the strength of his steps. He felt his heirloom weapon resonate with the mysterious power, he gripped the hilt even tighter and swung at the Grimm with all the strength he could muster.

"That was all I could remember."

"…"

There was a pregnant pause as his team processed all the information that he just dropped on them.

* * *

"Mr. Arc." Ozpin gave Jaune a slight nod and motioned for the blonde teen to sit. "Tell me, what is the news regarding your village?" The blonde teen only stared at the headmaster's hazel eyes, his blue orbs eyes trying to relay an unsaid message. "I see." The headmaster spoke slowly, his voice still impassive but gentle. "I knew your father; he was also a student here at Beacon. Your father loved pranking all the other teachers, especially Peter, and when his team gets wind of what he did they would drag him down to their dorms and give him an earful. It was almost a daily occurrence." The headmaster gave a rare chuckle. "They were the best student's that I ever had the pleasure of teaching…Michael…" He continued, his lips forming a hazy smile. After a full minute of silence, the headmaster finally spoke, "My condolences, you are excused for your classes for a week, take some time off Mr. Arc." The headmaster finished. Jaune nodded and exited the office, but before he left the top floor he swore that he heard a muffled cry coming from the headmaster's office as he walked towards the elevator.

* * *

Jaune was thankful that the walk to his dorm didn't take very long. He entered his team's room and saw that his team mates were all staring at him, he ignored their looks and unceremoniously flopped down to his bed. He wasn't even sure that he could sleep after everything that had happened to him today but he was tired and the rest for his aching muscles is a welcome relief.

It was Pyrrha that broke down the tense silence in the room, she walked towards her team leader and sat down on the bed. "Jaune, I-I understand if you need some time alone but we're always here for-…." She looked down towards Jaune and saw that he was fast asleep. She smiled to herself and ran her hand through her leader's blonde hair, maybe she'll stay with him like this and comfort him all night. She'll just have to wake up before he does. 'Easy enough.' She closed her eyes, the black void of sleep claiming her consciousness.

Jaune woke up from the annoying rhythmic beeping of his alarm clock, he tried to sit up and reach for it only to be dragged back down by a pair of slim but toned arms. The blonde teen turned around and immediately flushed as he saw his partner sleeping next to him. She looked so peaceful yet hauntingly beautiful, just like that one sleeping princess from a fairy tale that his sisters always told him about. Her crimson hair flowed freely like a gentle fire, her full lips were parted, and the freckles on her face complemented her pale and flawless complexion. 'Damn hormones.' Jaune shook his head, trying to get rid of his dangerous thoughts, and gently nudged her to wake her up. Judging from how deep she was sleeping he was sure that it would take more than that to wake her up. He was wrong, she got up immediately.

After explaining to his team that he has a week off, he said goodbye and went towards the cafeteria with the intent on getting some much needed breakfast. Jaune walked quickly towards the mess hall, skillfully avoiding or ignoring anyone that had tried to socialize with him on the way there. He can't handle any social interactions right now; he just wants to be left alone for a bit to think to himself without anyone pointing or laughing at him for his social awkwardness.

"Can I get some…uh…" Jaune's brain shut down for a moment, 'Vivian loved bacon didn't she? No…was it Vivy? Didn't they both like bacon? I'm sure that Megan loved pancakes though, Nora would love to-…" A tap at his shoulder interrupted his inner monologue, the blonde teen turned around and saw no one. He heard someone clearing their throat but he didn't see anyone. Jaune was a bit scared now, 'is someone haunting me? Is this the voice?' he thought, before the heavy heel of a shoe slammed on top of his toes sending pain signals rocketing up to his brain. "Yowch! What the f-…" Jaune was again interrupted as he looked down and saw Weiss with her arms crossed and foot impatiently tapping the ground.

"If you're not going to get anything Arc, could you kindly step aside and let the other students, namely me, get some food?" The heiress haughtily said, emphasising on the word Arc. After 3 month's of being acquaintances she has never called Jaune his first name. Granted, Jaune had tried to get to know her but that came off as flirting to the young Schnee.

"Oh, uh, sorry Weiss just something on mind." He said, quickly turning away from her. He pointed at the tray of bacon and gave a dazzling smile at the cafeteria lady. "Sorry about that, I was just a bit distracted. Can I get some bacon, please?"

"Its fine young man! Thank you for being polite, kids these days hardly ever are." The cafeteria lady smiled back while handing Jaune the bacon with some extras. Jaune thanked her again and walked back to his usual spot in RWBY and JNPR's shared table.

Weiss could only stare at the blonde boy's retreating form; he had not called her dreaded nickname "snow angel" or had tried to flirt with her! 'The audacity of that man!' She thought, sure she didn't like his corny attempts at conversation but they were pretty entertaining and she would never tell anyone but they were the highlight of her day. 'Maybe he had already moved on…. thank god…I guess.' She balled up her fists, 'Not that I care or anything.'

Jaune sat down on his usual spot and idly munched on his plate of bacon and eggs. They didn't taste like anything, just a mouthful of texture. 'Just like cardboard.' He sighed. 'Mom could cook better than this.' The sudden thought of his mom's cooking almost made the blonde boy sob. He missed her cooking, even if she was so bad at it, he wouldn't tell her that to her face though as he doesn't want to make the same mistake that his dad did. The blonde knight smiled as he remembered that time when his father playfully said that her cooking is bad. The priceless look on his father's face when he went flying through the newly fixed window again made him almost chuckle. They really did get along nicely.

Jaune's reminiscing was cut short when he felt someone else sit at the table. He looked towards the source of disturbance and saw Weiss fixing him the usual Schnee glare. Things never change. He looked around the cafeteria, it was still early and only a few early risers were there, his team wasn't here yet because they were still getting ready and Weiss' team? Well, lets just say that when they sleep they do their best to imitate an unconscious body. Jaune considered striking up a conversation with the heiress but ultimately decided against it. He wanted to be left alone today, to be free of social interactions. He just wanted to train and release the stress from yesterday and maybe if he's lucky figure out how his semblance work.

'Hurry up and speak to me already!' The young Schnee tried sending another glare at the poor blonde boy's direction. She was not used to getting ignored by other people, especially by Jaune. She wondered if there was anything wrong with her today, 'did I style my hair right? Did I put on my makeup?' She impatiently tapped her foot as she ate with unladylike conduct.

'What the hell…did I really piss her off that much?' Jaune was beyond scared right now, Weiss had sent him the usual daily glare and he didn't think anything of it. But now she's just flat out staring at him and not even paying attention on what she's eating. He tried ignoring her continued glare and focus on chewing the tasteless abomination that he dared call breakfast, but the frustrated groans that she sent his way made it pretty challenging. The blonde teen finally had enough of it, he stood up and threw the rest of his food down the trash. He turned to Weiss, his eyes shut and hands clasped in a praying position. "Look, I don't know what I did but I just want to let you know that It wasn't my fault, if anything, it was probably Yang or Ruby's." He turned around, not waiting for Weiss' reaction and speed walked out of the cafeteria. He may be a gentleman but in terms of being scorned by a girl…well, he knew first hand how scary his mom can get. Better them than him.

"Gbrlrll…" The Schnee heiress only frothed at the mouth in frustration and anger.

* * *

After walking around Beacon for a few minutes to make sure his food settled, Jaune changed and headed towards the gym for his daily workout. The blonde teen walked towards the bench press and started doing his warmup, 135 lbs. Jaune was surprised that it felt so light, he could probably press the weight with one hand. Confused, Jaune loaded up the barbell. He put up 2 plates on each side making it weigh 225 lbs, 55 lbs more than his bodyweight. Jaune heaved and prepared himself for the greatest challenge of history. However, the blonde teen pressed it easily again. 'What is going on? Could this be the effect of my semblance too?' He pondered, there was no way that a scraggly guy like him could press someone like Cardin. He felt a tap again on his shoulder, Jaune, fearful for his life, turned around very slowly. He was instantly relieved when he saw Yang standing there instead.

"What's up, Vomit boy? You look like you've seen a ghost." Yang smiled at him, she was wearing an orange tank top and black joggers. "You need a spot?"

Jaune sighed, there was no way he's getting out of this one. "I-I guess. Sorry about earlier, I thought you were someone else." He said, laying back down and doing 15 more reps. 'It really does feel too easy for me.' "Yang could you help me load up the weight more?" Yang nodded and they added 2 more plates.

"Damn Jaune, how come you got so strong?" Yang questioned him, she wasn't sure if Jaune could do this even with his aura. 'He could only bench 145 last week, what the hell…' Yang then smirked mischievously.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out too…"

"Say Jaune, do you want to do a benching contest?"

"What?"

"Loser treats the winner's team for a week in Vale."

"But, I don't have any-…"

* * *

Yang panted, the sweat travelling down her toned body seductively, her chest, shoulders, triceps, and core ached. This…boy…no, this man is an absolute monster. "You'll get me next time Yang!" Jaune smacked her shoulder and smiled goodheartedly. He was a sportsman; he didn't want to rub his victory in her face anymore than he has to. Her pride was pretty fragile after all. However, the blonde teen's smile was anything but sportsmanlike to Yang. She was itching to wipe that smug smile off his face with her knuckles.

"Better watch your back, vomit boy." She said slowly while she picked up her bottle shaker and quickly walked away before he could say anything.

"Wh-wait, Yang!" He called out to her but to no avail, he thought about trying to catch up to her but decided against it. He still has a week off before the blonde brawler can make him eat a deluxe knuckle sandwich.

* * *

Warmed up, Jaune put his hoodie on and left the gym. He walked towards the training halls practically skipping in glee. He had just beaten the strongest first year in a benching contest, why wouldn't he be happy? He waved at the female attendant behind the desk and politely asked for a training room key.

Beacon's training rooms are pretty simple design. A white rectangular room with concrete walls and an atlesian bot dispenser/maker in the ceiling. Jaune pulled out his scroll and connected it to the Beacon training room app, with the app he could control how many bots the room will dispense and how skilled the bots are going to be. The blonde knight set it up to 4 bots and normal difficulty, the room then creaked and groaned and out of the giant dispenser came out 4 Atlesian Knights-200. Jaune readied himself, he drew Crocea Mors and expanded the sheath into a shield. He pushed off with his front foot forward and lunged towards the Atlesian robots.

* * *

"Hah…hah…hah…" Jaune collapsed on his back, sweat glistening from his tired form. He laid down among thousands of metal scraps from hundreds of Atlesian Knights he had destroyed. After beating the first 4 easily the blonde knight went a little overboard and summoned hundreds of Atlesian Knights, they were all in normal difficulty of course. He wanted to recreate the moment when his Semblance had awoken, he thought that being in a dangerous situation would be his trigger but he thought wrong.

"In a hurry to die just to be with me, Jaune 'Miles' Arc?" Jaune heard the same sweet voice from last time. This time, however, more clear and defined. Jaune's eyes widened, it sounded like her, it sounded just like Margaret. Jaune felt something hot crawling down his face.

"Who…what are you?! Are you Margaret?!" Jaune said out loud, his voice echoing around the training room as if to remind him that he was alone. "Maggie! Are you alright?! Where are you?!" Nothing. "Who are you!? Please, speak to me again!" Jaune pleaded with the voice for the umpteenth time, "please, I want to tell you so much more..." He tried again, voice hoarse from yelling too much. He clutched his family heirloom around his chest and curled up into a ball, and for the first time since his family's death, cried.

* * *

 **Hey boys, new chapter 'ere. Sorry for being so late, just have so much homework last week that I didn't have enough time to write out a chapter. Hopefully you can find it in your heart to forgive me. If I don't post for 1-2 weeks understand that I will be studying for finals and that I haven't abandoned the fic. Hopefully, I can make it up this summer since I'll be able to work on both of them everyday.**

 **As always thanks for the support for both of my stories and leave a review. I want to know what you guys what you guys think of this chapter. J**


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